| U-Piter | |
| Background: | group_or_band |
| Origin: | Saint Petersburg, Russia |
| Genre: | Russian rock Post-punk Progressive rock Alternative rock Art rock Gothic rock |
| Years Active: | 2001 – 2017 |
| Label: | Nikitin |
| Associated Acts: | Nautilus Pompilius Kino |
| Current Members: | Vyacheslav Butusov Yuri Kasparyan Yevgeny Kulakov Aleksey Andreev |
| Past Members: | Oleg Sakmarov Sergey Vyrvich |
U-Piter (Russian: Ю-Питер|links=no) was a Russian rock band from Saint-Petersburg. The group was formed by Vyacheslav Butusov in 2001.[1] The group disbanded in 2017.[2]
The band was formed on October 11, 2001, with the original members being Vyacheslav Butusov (former lead singer of Nautilus Pompilius), Yuri Kasparyan (former lead guitarist of Kino), Oleg Sakmarov (former member of Aquarium and Kolibri) and Evgeny Kulakov. The band's namesake was the Roman god Jupiter, though they often stylized their name in a mix of Cyrillic and Greek letters: Ю-πиτΣρ (see: pi, tau, sigma, rho).[3]
U-Piter released their first single on November 2001, "Udarnaya lyubov'" (Russian: "Ударная любовь").
They released their first album, Name of Rivers (Russian: Имя рек) in March 2003, consisting of 11 songs written by Butusov. The title of the album also is a play on the term "имярек", which is a placeholder name often used in official documents. In the same year, they participated in a tribute album of the Russian rock band Piknik with the track "Surgi i lurgi" (Russian: "Сурги и лурги").
During June through August of 2004, the group released their second album, Biografika (Russian: Биографика), of which some tracks - including "Devushka po gorodu" (Russian: "Девушка по городу") and "Pecnya iduschevo domoi" (Russian: "Песня идущего домой") - saw significant radio play.
In 2008, Sergei Vyrvich joined the line-up as a bass guitarist. In the same year, they released their third album, Bogomol (Russian: Богомол), in addition to a tribute album for Nautilus Pompilius.
In June of 2010, they released their fourth album, Tsvety i ternii (Russian: Цветы и тернии), which included the track Deti minut (Russian: Дети минут), which itself appeared in the soundtrack for the movie Игла Remix. The lyrics were taken from a poem written by the lead singer of Kino, Viktor Tsoi.
In 2015, the group released their fifth and last album, Gudgora (Russian: Гудгора).
The group split in February 2017, after a music tour through Siberia and Ural.
| Year | Russian name | English transliteration (translation) |
|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Ударная любовь (сингл) | Udarnaya Lyubov (Shocking Love) — single |
| 2003 | Имя рек | Imya Rek (Name of Rivers) |
| 2004 | Биографика | Biografika (Biographica) |
| 2008 | Богомол | Bogomol (Mantis) |
| 2008 | Mutatis Mutandis | |
| 2010 | Цветы и тернии | Tsvety i ternii (Flowers and thorns) |
| 2015 | Гудгора | Gudgora |